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8th Annual Festival Runs August 3 – 5
Washington, D.C., June 20, 2018 – Author, memoirist, and literary art organizer Michelle Tea will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 OutWrite LGBTQ Book Festival (OutWrite), scheduled for Friday, August 3, through Sunday, August 5, 2018, at the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th St. NW. OutWrite, a celebration of queer literature, is the premiere LGBTQ literature festival in the Washington, D.C. area. The festival features more than sixty authors, forty exhibitors, and a full day of readings and intimate panel discussions. The festival concludes with six writing workshops, open to emerging and experienced writers.
OutWrite strives to build and engage a diverse literary community, offering a line-up reflective of the many voices in LGBTQ communities. This year’s themes include, writing as counter-cultural resistance, the power of speculative fiction, fluidity between writing and performance, and the transformative power of personal narratives.
OutWrite’s 2018 keynote speaker will be Michelle Tea, whose publications include the memoirs Valencia, Rent Girl, and How to Grow Up and the novels Black Wave, Rose of No Man’s Land, and Mermaid in Chelsea Creek. A prolific literary organizer in queer and feminist communities, she co-created the long-running performance tour Sister Spit and founded the literary nonprofit RADAR Productions. Tea is the curator of the Amethyst Editions imprint at the Feminist Press and the founder of Drag Queen Story Hour. In her most recent work, Against Memoir (Feminist Press), Tea blurs the lines between telling other people’s stories and her own. She turns an investigative eye to the genre that has nurtured her entire career, memoir, and considers the extent to which art preys on life.
On Friday evening, August 3, Tea will headline “A Night of Literary Comedy” at Ten Tigers Parlour, 3813 Georgia Ave. NW. The evening will be hosted by Chelsea Shorte, comedian about town and cohost of the Tagg Nation Podcast. Tickets will be available online and at the door.
On Saturday, August 4, the main day of the festival, is free and open to the public. The Reeves Center will open at 10:00 a.m. for a full day of bookselling, an exhibitor hall, author readings, and intimate panel discussions. The day kicks off with three events at 10:00 a.m.: Love Lines & Life Lines, a romance reading; Between Worlds, a science fiction/fantasy reading; and Mining Trauma, a panel for writers which explores ways that personal trauma may be used for catharsis in queer writing. Michelle Tea’s keynote reading and panel will be held at 1:00 p.m. Eleven panels and sixteen readings on a variety of literary and queer themes will be held throughout the day.
On Sunday, August 5, OutWrite 2018 concludes with six writing workshops at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. Topics range from “Crafting Your Authorial Identity” to “How to Pitch Your Book.” All workshops are free, but registration via the OutWrite website is requested. Walk-ins will be welcomed, space permitting.
Sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor spaces are still available, with signup information links here: thedccenter.org/events/outwrite2018.
The OutWrite LGBTQ Book Festival is a nonprofit endeavor and volunteers are always appreciated. Interested parties may contact the organizers at outwritedc@gmail.com to get involved.
For more information and a full listing of events, visit OutWrite’s Facebook page here, Twitter account here, or visit The DC Center website here. For media, please contact Dave Ring at outwritedc@gmail.com.
About OutWrite LGBTQ Book Festival
OutWrite is a celebration of LGBTQ literature, held each August in Washington, D.C. A nonprofit organization, OutWrite strives to build and engage in a diverse literary community, offering a line-up reflective of the many voices in LGBTQ communities. For more information, visit: http://thedccenter.org/outwrite/
About The DC Center
The DC Center for the LGBT Community educates, empowers, celebrates, and connects the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in the national capital region. Its mission focuses on the four core areas of health and wellness, arts and culture, social and support services, and advocacy and community building. They envision communities where LGBTQ people feel healthy, safe, and affirmed. For more information, visit: thedccenter.org/outwrite.
